Oxfam India Policy Brief

No. 12 | March 2015

Right to Education Act:

Claiming Education for Every Child1

A conscious neglect of school education in the initial decades of independent India is termed by Dreze and Sen (2013)
as a home-grown folly.2 Public services like education are key to nurture participatory growth as well as to ensure that
growth improves peoples living conditions. However, Indias highly privatised and compartmentalised education system
- largely unaccountable to the public- offers very different opportunities for various social groups and perpetuates social
inequalities, instead of reducing them.3 Three out of four children currently out of school in India are either Dalit (32.4%),
Muslim (25.7%) or Adivasi (16.6%).4 Enactment of the landmark RTE legislation has triggered significant improvements,
but evidence shows that quality has often been neglected. While concerns regarding privatisation of education remain,
RTE Act offers a first step towards an educational system in India that offers access, equity, and inclusion of all children.

xperience of inequality manifested through castebased discrimination shaped Dr B. R. Ambedkars

philosophy of education. The idea of education as a means
to social change and equality informed his vision as he
drafted Indias Constitution. Equality of opportunity as
outlined in the preamble of the Indian Constitution has
been widely interpreted to include equality in provision of
education and seen as a crucial factor in securing equality
of status.5

Latest ASER statistics show that 96.7 per cent of children in

the age group 6-14 years are enrolled in school in rural India.
This is the 6th year in a row that enrolment rates have been
96 per cent and above6. Latest District Information System
for Education (DISE 2014) statistics show that about 94.9
per cent schools in 2013-14 had drinking water compared
to 83 per cent in 2005-06.7 Further, the schools have been
able to attract a significantly higher number of differentlyabled children (2.49 million enrolled in 2013-14). 8

Translating this vision, the Right of Children to Free and

Compulsory Education Act (RTE) in 2009 put the onus on
the government to guarantee eight years of free, quality
education to all children aged six to fourteen years. This
landmark legislation also marks decades of activism by
peoples movements. Since its enactment, the legislation
has brought about steady, if slow, progress. Figure 1 outlines
progress under RTE in terms of school infrastructure across
the country.

Educational inequalities in India show a strong class

gradient: the National Sample Survey reveals that in the
year 2007-08, about half of the people in the bottom 10 per
cent population in terms of monthly spending are literate,
as compared to almost 90 per cent literacy rate for the top
10 per cent of the population.9 Poorer children are shown
to have lower educational participation indicators like
enrolment and attendance, and it follows that a higher
proportion is out of school10. Marginalised households
including Dalit, Adivasi, Muslim and female-headed
households, and households with persons with disabilities,
which have high incidence of poverty, are particularly
vulnerable to educational exclusion due to impacts of
poverty.11 The Global Monitoring Report 2012 ranked India a
low 102 out of the 120 countries on the Education for All
(EFA) Development Index, based on progress in universal
primary education, adult literacy, gender parity and the
quality of education.12

Figure 1: Progress under RTE

100

93 95
85

82
75

80

47
40

40
32

28

36
25

62

58

59

60

51

51
43

31

In this context, drawing on existing research and recent

policy debates within civil society, Oxfam India suggests
the following to improve the implementation of the RTE Act:

Recommendations

20

0
Student % Primary % U. primary % Schools % Schools
classroom schools
schools
with
with girls'
ratio
with
with
drinking
toilet
(SCR)
SCR > 30* SCR > 35
water
facility
facility

2010

%
% Schools % Schools % Schools
Schools
with
with
with
with ramp playground boundary
Kitchen
wall
shed

2014

Source: http://ssa.nic.in/rte-docs/Final_RTE_4th_Year.pdf

Provide a roadmap to ensure compliance to RTE norms

within three years
Ensure accountability to RTE through effective quality
monitoring
Address educational inequalities
community involvement

by

ensuring

Context
In 2002, following concerted civil society mobilisation and
interventions by the Supreme Court, Article 21A on the
right to education was inserted in the Constitution, as part
of Right to Life. In April 2010, the Right of Children to Free
and Compulsory Education Act came into effect. Provisions
such as the prohibition of discrimination, instruction in
mother tongue, and implementation of continuous and
comprehensive evaluation (CCE) came into force. Standards
of school infrastructure were to be met within three years
and teachers were to be adequately trained within five
years. 13 The country has missed both the milestones.
The Right to Education (RTE) Forum Stocktaking Report
(2014) suggests that across the country, less than 10 per
cent schools comply with all of the RTE norms (Figure 2).
The missing of deadlines laid down for implementation is
reflective of the fact that radical transformation of schools
and the educational system that was expected to have set
in motion with the enactment of RTE has not happened.14 As
shown in Figure 2, a large proportion of schools continue
to be non-compliant to norms and standards for a school
stipulated by the RTE Act, 2009.15
Figure 2: Compliance of Government Schools with
parameters stipulated in the RTE Act
90%

15.40%

72%

20.96%

54%
36%

22.30%

18%

17.60%

0%

Six Parameters
Seven Parameters
Eight Parameters
Nine Parameters
All Ten Parameters

8.30%
Percentage of Government Schools

Source: Government of India (2014), Education for All: Towards Quality with
Equity, NUEPA, New Delhi.

As the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education

Kishore Singh cautioned, the global rise of privatisation
and lack of regulation further deepens inequalities in
education.16 Recent Oxfam research has shown that
universal public services are one of the strongest weapons
in the fight against inequality. They mitigate the impact
of skewed income distribution and redistribute wealth by
putting virtual income into the pockets of the poorest
women and men.17
As is well-known, access to free education is a key
determinant to well-being in the short as well as the long
term. A study from rural Uttar Pradesh estimated that for
an average family in the bottom 40 per cent of the income
distribution, educating all their children at a low-fee school
would cost around half of their annual household income.18
Various government-appointed commissions have made
radical recommendations such as the Common School
System (CSS)19 to reduce inequalities considerably and
transform the landscape of education in the country.20
Oxfam India Policy Brief

While political will to bring in these sweeping reforms was

found lacking, proper implementation of RTE Act will help
substantially reduce existing educational inequalities.

Recommendations

Provide a roadmap to ensure compliance to

RTE norms within three years

While there are improvements, DISE figures point towards

major gaps as well. In terms of infrastructure, some figures
are worth noting. About 53.2 per cent of schools have
water hand-pumps and only 26.9 per cent have tap-water
facility. The percentage of schools with boys toilet is 94.5
out of which 92.7 per cent are functional compared to 84.6
per cent of schools have girls toilet out of which 91.6 are
functional. Still, only less than half of total schools have
hand wash facility available near toilet. Only 84.1 per cent
of schools that require it actually have ramp. In 2013-14,
out of government and aided primary schools where mid day
meal is being provided and prepared in school premises, one
out of three schools do not have a kitchen shed. When we
account for all schools, the proportion is one out of four.21
UNESCOs latest EFA Global Monitoring Report (2014) paints
a picture of a widespread learning crisis in India. Out of the
total 85 countries analysed, 21 countries had only less
than half of children learning the basics. Of these, 17 are
from sub-Saharan Africa; the others being India, Mauritania,
Morocco and Pakistan.22 Contributing to this are problems of
under-staffing and poor training of teachers. In India, 5 lakh
sanctioned teacher posts are vacant and 6.6 lakh in-service
teachers are untrained. Around 37 per cent of primary schools
do not conform to the national pupilteacher ratio (PTR) norm
of 30:1. The average PTR ranged from 10:1 in Andaman and
Nicobar Islands to 53:1 in Bihar. Moreover, around 10 per cent
of schools across the country are single teacher schools23.
Financing for RTE remains woefully inadequate. Total public
expenditure for education, at less than 3.5 per cent of GDP,24
is way below the 6 per cent commitment in subsequent
National Education Policies. Accountability Initiative notes
that with the launch of RTE, the total SSA budget including
Government of India (GOI) and state shares increased over
two-fold from Rs 27,552 crore in FY 2009-10 to Rs 69,937
crore in FY 2012-13. However, the total approved budget
shows reductions. In FY 2014-15, only Rs 54,925 crore was
approved under SSA, a drop of 22 per cent from FY 201213.25 The fund sharing pattern emerging from 2015-16 Union
Budget indicates that the central government is shifting
the fiscal responsibility towards State Governments as
90 per cent of the SSA allocation is now coming from the
Prarambhik Shiksha Kosh and only 10 per cent from the
governments Plan Budget.26
Global Monitoring Report 2014 notes that India is among
the few middle income countries with potential to mobilise
domestic resources for education through improved
taxation27. Systemic inefficiencies in tax collection impede
effective taxation. For instance, majority of tax revenue
foregone is due to exemptions from custom and excise
duties to the tune of 5.7 per cent of GDP. If 20 per cent of this
is earmarked for education, which amounts to an additional
US$22.5 billion, it would increase education funding by
almost 40 per cent.28
No. 12 | March 2015

Ensure accountability to RTE through effective

quality monitoring

While efforts and funds have focused on developing

school infrastructure, evidence shows that quality has
been neglected. Many states have neglected teacher
training and the growing practice of appointing parateachers on short-term contracts aggravates the problem.
Learning outcomes reflect these shortfalls: in 2014, more
than half of the children in class V could not read a class
II textbook29.
Lack of accountability to RTE Act is a systemic challenge
and the existing checks and balances seem to have but a
limited impact. Teacher absenteeism particularly affects
disadvantaged students; absenteeism varied from 15 per
cent in Maharashtra to 42 per cent in Jharkhand.30 Moreover,
authorities have failed to monitor the implementation of the
Act across the country, no more than one in two schools
were inspected31. Further, understanding of CCE has been
unclear among staff leading to improper implementation.
Rollout of special training has been poor. Compounding
this has been delayed supply of textbooks as also need for
expediting curriculum and textbook reforms.32
The National and State Commissions for Protection of Child
Rights (SCPCR) are responsible for addressing grievances
emerging out of such situations on the ground. A total of 29
States/UTs have constituted systems for monitoring RTE. A
recent analysis of RTE rules by Oxfam India showed that all
state rules provide for the formation of either an SCPCR or
a Right to Education Protection Authority (REPA) except in
Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, and Tamil Nadu. Ironically, Madhya
Pradesh had an SCPCR at the time of the rules drafting
(albeit fairly understaffed). Himachal Pradesh does not
mention the need for an SCPCR but intends to set up a REPA
in its rules33.
NCPCR itself is mired in court battles: the latest RTE Forum
stocktaking report observes that Supreme Court stayed
the appointment of NCPCR members, after criticising the
governments failure to put in place norms and guidelines
for the members. At the same time, the number of cases
with the Commission has declined drastically over the years;
there were 1,177 in 2010-11 and 174 in 2013-14. There is
also a backlog of cases - there are still 484 open cases
from the 2010-11 batch of complaints.34 A recent study in
Karnataka showed that the redress procedures under RTE in
Karnataka are perplexing and poorly designed and have not
led to enforcement of the right. The authors noted that with
faltering administrative accountability, many complainants
find themselves with unresolved grievances leading to
unenforced or improperly enforced rights.35
ASER surveys have triggered a national conversation on the
quality of education. While ASER surveys claim that children
who attend government schools perform worse than those
in private schools, evidence from academic studies to the
contrary is emerging. A study by Azim Premji Foundation in
rural Andhra Pradesh which explored learning achievement
levels over five years showed that while private school
children performed better than government school ones
in the first year; in subsequent years, government schoolgoing children performed just as well, if not better.36
Oxfam India Policy Brief

Address educational inequalities by ensuring

community involvement

Figure 3: Difference in Educational Indicators for

Women, Dalits, Adivasis and Muslims Relative to the
National Average (%)
90
1.7

0.4

3.4

1.3

Overall=0

0
-1.3
-10.6
Women

-1.9
-9.8
Dalits

-5.4
-12.9
Adivasis

-4.6 -4.8
Muslims

Literacy Rate -15 Year and above

Out of School Rate
Current Attendance Rate for 5 to 14 years old

Source: Centre for Equity Studies (2014), India Exclusion Report

2013-14, Books for Change, New Delhi.

As DISE relies on information provided by teachers, with

a focus on enrolment levels rather than actual school
attendance, it is said to provide a highly inaccurate
estimation of access to education vis--vis vulnerable
children.37 Enrolment figures tend to ignore the invisible
children. Very few reliable estimates exist but a 2011 study
found 50,000 street children in Delhi alone and only one in
five had received any formal education.38
A major loophole in the RTE Act is the failure to address the
issue of out-of-school children. According to estimates
from UNICEF (2014), 17.8 million children in India remain out
of school.39 These children belong to the most marginalised
sections such as Dalits, Adivasis, urban poor and girls40.The
absence of a homogenous definition and lack of an effective
mapping and tracking system translate in diverging data.
According to government estimates, in 2014, 60 lakh children
were out-of-school.41 National Survey on Estimation of Out of
School Children, 2014 supported by the Ministry of Human
Resource and Development estimated their number at 60.4
lakh42 and the National Sample Survey Organisation counted
49.8 lakh child labourers. Interventions to integrate these
children remain inadequate.
Absence of clear operational guidelines that lay down
modalities of implementation at the community level
contributes to this situation. The lack of coordination
between state and central administration and among
relevant departments, such as Education, Tribal Affairs,
Labour, Women and Child Development, and Social Justice,
is another challenge.
While the Act defines roles and responsibilities, the intent
is not fully translated into actual decision-making powers
to the communities. The performance of the School
Management Committees (SMC43) remains varied and
uneven across states. According to DISE data, 88.4 per cent
schools had an SMC in 2012-13, which improved to 91.1
per cent in 2013-14.44 There is inadequate representation
of marginalised communities in SMCs and steps to enable
linguistic minorities, women and persons from marginalised
communities to engage with processes of the SMCs
remains weak. Thus, in Delhi, only 18 per cent surveyed
schools reported to have proportional representation of
No. 12 | March 2015

disadvantaged groups45. Instances of gendered division of

labour- with womens roles relegated to managing mid day
meals and distribution of uniforms, with rest of the roles
being given to men abound. 46
The growing number of children enrolled in private schools
further deepens the divide: better-off families turn to
private schools, while the poor remain confined to a
neglected public system. RTE Act provided a 25 per cent
reservation for poor and marginalised children in private
unaided schools. A study conducted in the cities of Delhi
and Bangalore by Oxfam India on the 25 per cent reservation
in private schools showed that certain disadvantaged
groups such as children with disabilities have been left out
in both the cities. In Bangalore, orphans, street and migrant
children and children affected by HIV are not included.
On the contrary, children from SC, ST and OBC/BC have
benefitted from this quota.47
The Stocktaking Report (2014) notes that 25 states have
notified norms for admission under this provision and
16 states have implemented 25 per cent reservations in
2013-1448. However, due to lack of awareness, procedural

Notes
1

Claiming Education for Every Child is a campaign launched

in 2014 November by the Right to Education Forum
demanding full implementation of the RTE Act.
2 Reflecting an upper-class and upper-caste bias against
the education of the masses.
3 Drze, Jean and Amartya Sen (2013), An Uncertain Glory:
India and its Contradictions , Princeton University Press, NJ,
USA.
4 National Sample Survey on Estimation of Out of School
Children (2014), accessed at http://ssa.nic.in/pabminutesdocuments/NS.pdf
5 Centre for Equity Studies (2014), India Exclusion Report
2013-14, Books for Change, New Delhi
6 Pratham (2015), Annual Status of Education Report 2014,
Main Findings , ASER Centre, New Delhi
7 NUEPA (2014a), District Information System for Education
Flash Statistics 2013-14, National University of Educational
Planning and Administration, New Delhi.
8 NUEPA (2014b), District Information System for Education
Analytical tables 2013-14, National University of
Educational Planning and Administration, New Delhi.
9 National Sample Survey Organization (2010), Education in
India, 200708: Participation and Expenditure, NSS 64th
Round (200708), Ministry of Statistics and Programme
Implementation, New Delhi, cited in CES (2014) op cit.
10 CES(2014), Op cit.
11 ibid.
12 UNESCO (2012), Education for All Global Monitoring Report,
United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural
Organization, Paris.
13 Singh, Shyam et al (2013), Right to Free and Compulsory
Education: Delivering the Promises of the Law, Oxfam India
Policy Brief 7, Oxfam India, New Delhi.
14 RTE Forum (2014), Stocktaking Report: Year Four (2013-14),
Right to Education Forum, New Delhi.
15 Government of India (2014), Education for All: Towards

difficulties and parental choice, a large number of seats

were vacant during academic year 2013-14.49 Most private
schools have found this provision against their interests
and many have started litigation. Two schools in Pune
who refused to provide 25 per cent seats had challenged
Pune Zilla Parishad in court and the Bombay High Court
held in 2014 that unaided minority schools are outside
the ambit of RTE Act and such schools are free to conduct
admissions as per their own rules.50 The Supreme Court also
has interpreted the privilege for minorities to run their own
educational institutions in a rather narrow sense, resulting
in minority schools opting out of the requirements of RTE.
This has dealt a blow to the idea of inclusion, which is an
important aspect of the RTE Act.51
Despite limitations in its implementation, the RTE Act which
came about as the result of a long struggle by peoples
movements remains a remarkable achievement. While
concerns regarding privatisation of education remain, RTE
Act offers a first step towards an educational system in
India that offers access, equity, and inclusion of all children.

Quality with Equity, NUEPA, New Delhi.

16 http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/voices/childrens-right-education-must-prevail-amid-privatization
17 Seery, Emma (2014) Working for the Many: Public services
fight inequality, Oxfam Briefing Paper 182, Oxfam
International, Oxford.
18 ibid.
19 CSS is a long standing demand in India, where
neighbourhood schools would ensure access, equity, and
inclusion of all children. The CSS was first suggested in the
Kothari Commission report (1964-66) and then in 2007 by a
Bihar government commission that was set up to review the
mechanics of implementing it. The vision of CSS as outlined
in the report of the Bihar commission in 2007 recommends
replacing multiple tiers of schools with a common system
that will provide a level playing field to children from every
socio-economic background. It is often said that the best
way of ensuring the RTE is providing a good quality CSS.
20 Jha, Praveen and Pooja Parvati (2014). Assessing progress
on universal elementary education in India: A note on some
key constraints. Economic and Political Weekly, XLIX (16), pp
44-51.
21 NUEPA (2014a), op cit.
22 UNESCO (2014), Education for All Global Monitoring Report
2013-14, United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural
Organization, Paris.
23 Rai, Ambarish (2014) , Implementation of the RTE Act: RTE
Forums Stocktaking Report, Social Change, Vol (44), No (3),
New Delhi.
24 Available at: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.XPD.
TOTL.GD.ZS
25 Accountability Initiative (2015), Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan,
GOI 2015-16, Budget Briefs, accessed at http://www.
accountabilityindia.in/expenditure_track
26 http://www.cbgaindia.org/files/updates_on_ub15/
Analysis%20of%20Union%20Budget%202015-16.pdf
27 UNESCO (2014), op cit.
28 ibid.
29 Pratham (2015), op cit.

30 UNESCO (2014), op cit.

31 NUEPA (2014a), op cit.
32 RTE Forum (2014), op cit.
33 Kaur Randeep and Anjela Taneja (2014), Federalism and
Fidelity: A Review of the Provisions under RTE Act, Oxfam
India , New Delhi.
34 RTE Forum (2014), op cit.
35 Bhattacharjee, Malini and Dolashree Mysoor (2015),
Unredressed Grievances under RTE: Navigating the State
Labyrinth, Governance Journal, Wiley.
36 Chowdhury, Shreya Roy (2015), Private schools are not
adding value: Study, Times of India, February 27, accessed
at http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/
news/Private-schools-are-not-adding-value-Study/
articleshow/46392725.cms
37 CES(2014), Op cit.
38 ibid.
39 http://www.unicef.org/education/files/SouthAsia_OOSCI_
Study__Executive_Summary_26Jan_14Final.pdf
40 RTE Forum (2014), op cit.
41 Rajya Sabha unstarred question no. 3212, 22nd December,
2014.
42 National Sample Survey on Estimation of Out of School
Children (2014), op cit.
43 These are committees of parents and locally elected
representatives involved in monitoring and planning school
activities.
44 RTE Forum (2014), and NUEPA (2014a), op cit.
45 ibid.
46 ibid.
47 Padma M. Sarangapani et al (2014), Inclusion of Marginalised
Children in Private Unaided Schools under The Right of
Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 An
Exploratory Study, Oxfam India, New Delhi.
48 RTE Forum (2014), op cit.
49 ibid.
50 http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/
Private-unaided-minority-schools-not-under-RTE-HC/
articleshow/27870599.cms, cited in ibid.
51 CES(2014), Op cit.

This Policy Brief is written by Oommen C Kurian and Pooja Parvati, with contributions from Ravi Prakash, Maju Varghese, Deepak L Xavier and Nisha Agrawal.
Oxfam India March 2015.
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